The Lily Harper 8 Book Boxed Set

by HP Mallory

  Once I decided I was in no immediate danger of being eaten … well, at least not right away, a wave of relief washed over me from my head to my toes. Taking a quiet, but deep breath while trying to avoid any sudden movement, I started to devise a plan. How to get myself out of this mess … I had to assume I was on borrowed time … but even borrowed time was better than no time at all.

  Lily, your whistle! My mind’s voice suddenly reminded me of Alaire’s gift, which was still hanging around my neck. I immediately lifted the whistle to my mouth and blew it once. The creature, however, made no motion to back away from me like the other ones had that we’d encountered in the Dark Wood. I blew the whistle again, just to be sure the beast heard the loud, shrill sound. But all it did was stand there, staring at me curiously.

  Clearly, my whistle had no impact on the creatures of the Underground City. Great. Just great.

  But I wasn’t able to feel sorry for myself for very long because the creature suddenly lifted its nose into the air at the same time that it closed its eyes. Its mouth dropped open, revealing some impressively sharp teeth lining its upper and lower jawlines. It began inhaling, panting like a cat, as if trying to catch the scent of something in the air. Its breathing suddenly grew ragged as it started to kick at the dirt on the floor of the cave. It brought its hands to its chest and clenched them into fists before beating them against its well-defined pectorals. It reminded me of a gorilla. A few seconds later, dropping its fists, it glanced down at me again, as if to make sure I was still there. I could see its chest expanding as it inhaled and exhaled deeply. Then I spotted the expansion of something else … something not quite as innocent.

  Oh. No. I thought to myself as my eyes went wide.

  I hadn’t noticed that the creature had a penis until now. Previously, its entire body appeared to be covered with coarse, long, brown hair. Now, however, that hair was parted, revealing a very aroused and very amply endowed male organ.

  “Oh, my God,” I breathed while shaking my head as I tried to back away from the beast. Now I was fully aware of what sort of appetite it, er, he, had for me.

  Once the creature noticed me crab-walking backwards, hoping to slip out from underneath his legs and away from him, his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. The man-beast growled a low, guttural sound that I took as a warning aimed directly at me. I immediately stopped moving, taking a few deep breaths to regulate the sporadic beating of my heart. Freaking out certainly couldn’t help this situation.

  The thing took a few heavy steps toward me, his flat feet maybe a foot wide and two feet long. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he hovered over me, glaring down with glowing, red-embered eyes. His ridiculous erection swung from side-to-side, reminding me of a coiled snake about to strike.

  As long as it doesn’t strike me, I’ll be okay, I said to myself. The thought of losing my virginity to a creature that was neither man nor beast filled me with complete, undiluted dread.

  The creature pounded his chest again and lifted his face into the air, this time making a strange howling noise that emanated from the back of his throat. His erection seemed to dance in time with his cries, and the hideous thing shone as red and shiny as a tomato. Without any warning, the yak-man suddenly bent over and wrapped his hands around my waist. I yelled out in protest as he hefted me up onto my feet. Now facing him, I had no choice but to stare into his crimson eyes.

  There’s no humanity in those eyes at all, I thought as renewed fear started to churn my guts. There’s nothing in that creature but feral beast. The truth of my words made my heart sink. It fell all the way to the floor of the cave.

  The thing dropped his hands and began fisting them before beating them against his chest again. My only hope was that he couldn’t reach the rest of his brethren to ask them to partake in his female feast.

  Oh, God, Lily, really? I berated myself.

  The yak-man stopped pounding his chest and reached out to me with paw-like mitts before gripping both of my breasts painfully. Gasping, I pushed away from him and took a step back, my heart lodged obstinately in my throat. In response, he came at me again and gripped my waist, pulling me into the heat of his primeval embrace. I brought my hands up and shoved hard against his chest, my feeble attempt to push him away from me. The feel of his wiry, coarse hair combined with that musty animal smell made me sick to my stomach. The thing growled again, and his eyes glowed an even brighter red.

  “I know the Master of the Underground City!” I said quickly, hoping to reason with this Neanderthal. Furthermore, I was beyond sure that Alaire wouldn’t be very happy to know this monster was planning to mate with me. “I know Alaire! He and I are … very good friends,” I continued, nodding enthusiastically as I grew more excited by the possibility of my plan working. “So you really don’t want to mess with me because Alaire won’t like it, and he’ll punish anyone who assaults or molests me.” The creature just looked at me blankly. “Don’t you understand?!” I railed, the pitch of my voice increasing rapidly. “I’m like a, uh … you know, I’m like a special ambassador! I’m protected by the master, himself!”

  The beast continued to study me, but a complete lack of comprehension in his eyes made me realize he couldn’t speak or understand me. He growled again and released my waist before suddenly spinning me around so my back was against his chest. It was actually a good thing he hung onto me because he turned me so quickly, I lost my footing.

  The thing brutally gripped me by my hips and pulled me into the hard length of his shaft. His enormous erection slipped right through my thighs, and when I glanced down and realized it was still a good eight inches beyond my legs, I started to panic.

  This thing will split you in two! I railed at myself. How could you be so stupid as to lose your sword on the train tracks?

  I failed to answer myself when the creature began pumping against me, his rotten breath assaulting all of my senses and making me gag. I thrust my hands backward, against his thighs and tried to push away from him, but my efforts were basically useless. The creature was massive—even bigger and taller than Tallis. And judging by the way he was anxiously thrusting, he was also determined.

  When he realized I wasn’t at the necessary angle for penetration, he gripped a handful of my hair at the nape of my neck, pushing down on my shoulder with the other hand until I was forced onto my knees. His breathing grew heavier as he settled behind me before gripping my hip with his free hand. He started to mount me again, but was apparently unaware that I was still wearing yoga pants.

  His erection strained against the delicate, thin cotton of my pants, so I immediately thrust my hips forward to get away from him. All that did, however, was precede a stabbing pain in the back of my head where the son of a bitch viciously yanked my hair.

  I cried out as soon as the pain registered, but all the creature did was growl that low warning sound. Then he wrapped both paws around my waist again and forced me back in place. He started to mount me again, and this time, much faster. The thing grunted a few times, not from pleasure, but what sounded like frustration because his turgid, engorged staff kept getting interrupted by the seam of my yoga pants.

  He continued to make strange, guttural, moaning sounds, which eventually stopped once he realized the barrier was still preventing his efforts from attaining their full effect. He growled loudly again, this time suggesting his frustration was growing. Thrusting one mitt of a hand between my legs, he blindly groped the cotton of my pants, as if he were trying to comprehend what the nature of the problem was. He snarled loudly as he pulled his hand from between my legs, following the cotton stretch fabric all the way past my butt and over my hips. Once he reached the hemline of the pants, he searched for an opening along the waistline, using both hands to guide him. I figured his vision must have been bad because he kept fumbling when he tried to yank my pants off, almost like he couldn’t see them.

  I knew he meant to fully bury himself inside me as soon as my pants were off, so I frantically searched
for a way to defend myself. When it came to brawn, there was no way I could go up against the sheer massive strength of the creature. And my sword was probably still back up on the train tracks, basically useless to me.

  There’s nothing I can do! I wailed with despair.

  Then you’re just going to let this thing have his way with you? that other part of me argued back. You’re not even going to attempt to resist him?

  Fight back with what? My fists? Maybe a few choice words?! Maybe hit him in the head with my useless whistle??!!

  I was spared the need for further mental debate when the creature suddenly got wise to my pants. He began to pull on them, trying to yank them down my hips. My clever response was to spread my legs out wider, making it more difficult, if not impossible, for him to take them off me. The yak-man growled again, this time much louder before lifting me up by my hips and slamming my legs together with his thighs. I refused to pay full attention to my dilemma, though, because I was fully focused on a pile of human bones that were less than two feet away from me.

  If I can grab that femur, I can hit him with it, I thought to myself as I eyed the bone in question. Jutting out of the top of the bone pile, it looked definitely broad and long enough to do some major damage. My only problem now was that I was still two feet away from it, and the creature was growing ferocious in his eager attempts to undress my lower half.

  Snatching the hemline of my pants again, he pulled down on them, but his fingers were so large, he couldn’t get a grip on them. He also failed to understand that he had to slip his fingers underneath the fabric in order to pull them down. He roared in what sounded like exasperated anger before he began panting. Moments later, he released my pants and beat his fists against his chest. Meanwhile, his monumental erection continued to sway this way and that, no less engorged, not even in the face of such adversity.

  As soon as the beast released me, I darted forward, but I didn’t get especially far since I was still on my knees. I was maybe a foot closer to the pile of bones, though. From there, I scampered the short distance before I was abruptly impeded. The creature howled at me, gripping my legs as he yanked me backwards. My stomach burned when it scraped across the floor of the cave, but I ignored the pain. I was too busy fighting against the creature’s tenacious grasp, digging my fingers into the ground as I tried to make my way back to the bone pile. I was close enough to reach out as far as I could and wrap my index finger around one end of the femur. At that moment, the thing yanked me back again. But it didn’t matter anymore; I’d already gotten what I was after. Wrapping my fingers around the middle of the femur, I immediately rolled over so that I was lying on my back. The creature was directly above me, within perfect striking range.

  Now, Lily! I yelled silently before coiling my arm back and bringing it down with full force and momentum on the creature’s head. All I managed to hit was the creature’s left horn, which immediately split down the center before the last two inches of it flew off. The creature wailed with agony and stumbled backwards, holding his head in his hands. He fell against the side of the cave wall and drooped down to the ground, cradling his enormous head. Wasting no time, I jumped up onto my feet and ran at him. A strange, black goo dripped from the end of his horn, spilling all over his hands.

  But I couldn’t say I cared. I swiftly took a clean shot, nailing the creature right between the horns with the business end of the femur. His response was a final grunt before he collapsed into a lifeless heap.

  You’ve gotta get out of here, Lily! I wasn’t sure if the creature was dead, or passed out, or just momentarily stunned. But I sure didn’t want to find out. All I wanted to do was get as far away from him as possible.

  Luckily, the cave was fairly narrow and short, so it wasn’t a difficult task to find the entrance. I hurried to escape, still carrying the femur in my right hand. I figured it was a good idea to remain armed, in case I encountered any other unsavory strangers.

  Once I reached the mouth of the cave, I began jog-walking down the narrow slope that led up to it. I hurried down the incline and glanced back up to make sure the creature hadn’t woken up or decided to pursue me. As far as I could tell, though, he wasn’t stirring.

  Now where will I go? I asked myself before worry overtook me. Neither Bill nor Tallis knows where I am! And who knows where they are!?

  Just try to find your way back up to the train tracks, I decided. Maybe they’re both still waiting for you there?

  Doubtful.

  Well, what other choice do you have? I asked redundantly. In truth, I had no idea where to find Bill and Tallis; that meant I was basically lost and alone in the Underground City. My only means for defending myself now was an old, white thighbone from some unfortunate soul.

  Things could be worse! I told myself as it started to rain.

  “Neither his neck he moved, nor bent his side...”

  - Dante’s Inferno

  SIXTEEN

  “Never, never, never give up,” I whispered the words of Winston Churchill to myself as I trudged through the bleak landscape. It looked like the surface of the moon. Well, a moonscape that was now very muddy in the onslaught of the downpour.

  The rain was freezing and the drops so large, each one felt like a tiny punch whenever it made contact with my skin. I wiped the drops from my eyes and hurried my steps, desperately hoping I was headed in the right direction. The land surrounding me was completely flat; but, in the intermittent light of the moon, I thought I could see the incline of a hill in the distance.

  Figuring I had no other alternative, I decided to make for the hill, hoping to find train tracks once I reached the top. As to which direction I should go once I got there, I still had no clue. All I knew was I needed to get the hell out of here lest that horny yak-man wake up and renew his pursuit of me … especially now, since I imagined the creature probably wouldn’t be quite so horny as he would be angry.

  I hurried my steps, feeling somewhat assured, now that I had a solid destination in mind. I also tightened my grip around the femur in my hand as I continued to check my left and then my right sides, just to make sure I wouldn’t be waylaid by some new, hideous creature. On every tenth step or so, I glanced over my shoulder to see if anything was following me; but as far as I could tell, I was indeed alone.

  You’re almost there, I reassured myself as I focused on the horizon again, keeping the view of the hill directly in my line of sight. I estimated about twenty more feet before I reached the base of the incline.

  Keep going, Lily! I cheered myself on, even though it was so dark, it wasn’t easy to recognize much of anything. Next time I see Alaire, I’m going to insist that he invest in some streetlamps, I thought to myself with a frown. On second thought, I hoped there would be no next time as far as seeing Alaire was concerned. You still owe him that favor, I reminded myself, gulping down the acidic taste of remorse as I tried to refocus my thoughts on the task at hand.

  All at once, I heard a sound. A sound that my admittedly fallible ears could have mistaken for a voice. My heart quickened and leapt as I clung to the hope that maybe I’d be found. But by whom? That thought put me on high alert, and I stopped short and stood there for a few seconds, impatiently waiting to hear the sound repeat itself. I ignored the rain that freely fell on my face and clouded my eyes as I tried to attune my ears more keenly. I hoped it wasn’t a simple trick of my mind.

  It’s nothing, I said to myself after another few seconds. Just your mind playing tricks on you … or maybe it was the sound of the wind.

  It’s not windy, I retorted, cocking my head to the side and doing my best to isolate all but the alien sound again; however, it was to no avail. All I could hear was the pitter-patter of raindrops falling over my body and pooling on the dirt ground below me.

  Taking a few steps forward, I stopped walking, turning my head to the other side in the chance that my hearing might have been better in that direction. I had to hold myself still for a few moments, if only to calm my heart
since its incessant beating seemed to be drowning out everything else. I breathed in and out for a count of three before listening hard again, as hard as I could, my heartbeat finally slowing down and starting to regulate.

  Then I heard something that sounded like voices whispering. I couldn’t detect which direction the whispering came from. I turned to my right, but when that failed to reveal anyone, I continued turning right until I made a full circle and faced the hill again.

  The whispering continued, sounding almost like the static you hear from a blown speaker. It faded from my left ear to my right, and back again. Turning my head from side-to-side again, I failed to make out any person or anything.

  There’s no one out there, Lily, I concluded in the end. You’re completely alone.

  Then what were those whispers I heard?

  Probably just the rain, I replied as the only plausible explanation. You’re really tired, too, and your mind is, no doubt, wandering. There’s no one out there and you only have yourself to rely on.

  My shoulders dropped with despair. Any hope I harbored fled like a banshee in the night. My disappointment stretched all the way to the tips of my toes; but I adamantly refused to succumb to the unhelpful feelings.

  Starting forward again, I wiped the rain from my eyes and, once again, scolded myself for standing around and hosting a pity party. That wasn’t going to help me … and could actually even have been hazardous to my health. I could only imagine it was simply a matter of time before the yak-man located me. When I glanced up at the hillside again, I resisted the urge to become disheartened since I didn’t seem to be any closer than before.